Ayrshire Scotland Business News is provided by the Elite Ayrshire Business Circle, an association of some of the top companies in Ayrshire. We publicise our members, and celebrate and report the wealth and rich diversity of entrepreneurial and business excellence that abounds here in Ayrshire, south-west Scotland. For further information e-mail Murdoch@eliteayrshire.com

The Elite Ayrshire Business Circle

Saturday, 25 June 2011

South Ayrshire Provost Winifred Sloan launches military veterans support network

Veterans First Point Ayrshire, a new support network for veterans across Ayrshire, has been launched with military precision by South Ayrshire’s Veterans Champion, Provost Winifred Sloan at Ayr Town Hall.

Veterans First Point Ayrshire has been established to support veterans, their families and friends, to support servicemen and women whether they have just left the armed forces recently or years ago. A booklet that was launched at the event was created to help veterans and their families. Containing information and contacts on housing, health and welfare, mental health, finance, careers and much more it quickly directs people to where they can get advice, guidance and support.

[Pictured: Lance Corporal Michael Monaghan, (25), a war veteran who served in Afghanistan with the Queen’s Welsh Dragoon Guards in 2008 is pictured with South Ayrshire Provost Winifred Sloan reading the the new Veterans First Point Ayrshire information booklet.]

Speaking at the event Provost Sloan said: “Today’s event reflects the hard work and dedication of a range of organisations who were determined to bring about the creation of Veterans First Point Ayrshire.

“Veterans, their families and friends will now be able to access free advice, guidance and support that will help them when they leave the armed forces. No matter how long they have served in the armed forces. Our servicemen and women need and deserve support when they make the transition to civilian life and that support needs to be sustained for years to come. These people are willing to literally lay down their lives for their country and we have a responsibility to be there for them when they need it.

“The new Veterans First Point Ayrshire information booklet is just the start. Specially created and packed with information on who to contact for advice or guidance about a range of topics including finance, housing, health and employment the booklet is great, it will be invaluable to veterans, their families and friends with at a glance contact details.

“However there’s much more to come and we are already looking for permanent premises to create a drop-in centre for veterans and their families. This is just the start of more support for our deserving veterans.

“Veterans First Point Ayrshire is run by veterans for veterans, so there are people ready to help who really understand what veterans go through. I’m sure this new support network will be a great success and I look forward to continuing to work with all the partners involved to ensure that’s achieved.”

Lance Corporal Michael Monaghan, (25), a war veteran who served in Afghanistan with the Queen’s Welsh Dragoon Guards in 2008, played a crucial part in launching Veterans First Point Ayrshire.

He said: “I am delighted to be part of the team who is going to be running it. As an injured soldier I know what it is like to come back from Afghanistan with mental health problems, money problems etc. I have had help but nowhere near as much as Veterans First Point Ayrshire is offering which I find amazing because I know there are people out there who are interested in helping armed services men and women. It is great because it’s going to be run by veterans for veterans who may have been through the same problems. I strongly believe in the services they are offering – fantastic!”

Falklands veteran and artist John Damari also took part in the launch. He is actively supporting Veterans First Point Ayrshire by exhibiting his artwork in the Council Chamber at Ayr Town Hall until Tuesday 28 June. Entry is free and his work will be for sale. John is donating 50% of all exhibition sales to the veterans.

John Damari said: “I am delighted as an artist to have the skills to create wonderful landscapes in support of Veterans First Point Ayrshire. I am sure that the proceeds from the paintings will be put to a very good use, so the veterans can benefit from funds raised by those wishing to support them. Servicemen and women who travel all over the world in support of our nation deserve our support. It is a great privilege for me to be part of such a wonderful support network for our veterans and to have the support of South Ayrshire Council, Provost Sloan and everyone else involved in Veterans First Point Ayrshire.”

THE EDITORThe Editor of Ayrshire Scotland Business News is Murdoch MacDonald, a graduate of Magdalene College, Cambridge University, where his journalistic contemporaries included John Simpson, now World Affairs Editor with the BBC, and Alan Rusbridger, Editor of the Guardian. Murdoch MacDonald has been in the public relations industry and a freelance journalist and broadcaster for more than 35 years.He has handled the PR accounts of many top Scottish companies, including Royal Bank of Scotland, Standard Life, John Menzies, Kwik-Fit and Barratt Homes.

He has hosted his own family finance programmes - "£s, Pence and Sense" on Radio Forth and "Moneywise" on Scottish Television.He now runs Ayrshire’s top PR consultancy Fame Publicity Services.

Wherever you are in the world, no other public relations consultancy, PR firm or publicity company can offer you a better or more cost-effective worldwide news distribution service, combined with search engine optimisation techniques that will drive customers and qualified sales leads to your company's website.

Murdoch MacDonald is also managing director of the Elite Ayrshire Business Circle, an association of some of the top companies in Ayrshire.Telephone: 01292 281498E-mail: Murdoch@eliteayrshire.com

Murdoch and his wife Lilian (pictured above) have written a book called "Phoenix in a Bottle", describing how they overcame alcoholism and are now, contrary to conventional wisdom, able to drink alcohol responsibly again. "Phoenix in a Bottle" is published by Melrose Books price £16.99 and is now available worldwide.Reviewing the book, eminent American addiction expert Dr Stanton Peele PhD commented:

“Phoenix in a Bottle is a modern version of The Days of Wine and Roses, and tells the true story of how two people who entered a period of desperate drinking stayed with one another in a close loving relationship, and emerged from their alcoholism able to drink responsibly again.

“Both a wonderful love story and a challenge to conventional wisdom about how people can recover from drinking problems, Phoenix in a Bottle gives people hope, and helps them to confront their own demons - alcohol or otherwise.”

And now "Phoenix in a Bottle" has been selected as a set text by a top American university.

“Phoenix in a Bottle” by Lilian and Murdoch MacDonald will now be required reading for all doctoral students in a psychology programme at Alliant International University in San Diego, California.

Alliant International University, headquartered in San Diego and San Francisco, California, was formed in 2001 by the merger of the California School of Professional Psychology (CSPP) and the United States International University. Alliant has 6 campuses throughout California and also runs programmes in Mexico City, Hong Kong and Tokyo. The California School of Professional Psychology at Alliant is one of the premier psychology schools in the US, and it counts roughly half the licensed clinical psychologists in California as its alumni.

Dr. Gary W. Lawson is Professor of Psychology at CSPP. He says: “I adopted Phoenix in a Bottle because the dilemma this couple struggled with and the questions they ask themselves are like so many others I have encountered in 35 years of clinical experience treating addictions.“However, nowhere in addiction literature have I seen these issues examined and explained as well as Lilian and Murdoch do in Phoenix in a Bottle.“I also recommend Phoenix in a Bottle to many of my patients as well.”

You can buy "Phoenix in a Bottle" by Lilian and Murdoch MacDonald online now direct from Amazon UK (click on book cover image below).